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KEY BENEFIT: The Fourth Edition ofThe Cosmic Perspectivebuilds on the textbook's long tradition of strong pedagogy and streamlined presentation. Renowned for its up-to-date and expert coverage, this reader-friendly text focuses on central ideas and unifying themes to provide a cosmic context. The Fourth Editionfeatures a new straightforward learning program that uses chapter openers, headers, and chapter summaries to make learning goals more explicit and to tie together important concepts.Our Place in the Universe, Discovering the Universe for Yourself, The Science of Astronomy, Celestial Timekeeping and Navigation, Key Concepts for Astronomy, Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity, Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos, Telescopes: Portals of Discovery, Learing from other Worlds, Our Solar System, Formation of the Solar System, Planetary Geology: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds, Planetary Atmospheres: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds, Jovian Planet Systems, Remnants of Rock and Ice: Asteroids, Comets, and Pluto, Other Planetary Systems, Space and Time, Spacetime and Gravity, Building Blocks of the Universe, Stars, Our Star, Star Stuff, The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard, Galaxies and Beyond, Our Galaxy, A Universe of Galaxies, Galaxy Evolution, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe, The Beginning of Time, Life on Earth and Beyond, Life in the UniverseFor all readers interested in learning about astronomy.

PART I DEVELOPING PERSPECTIVE

Our Place in the Universe

1

(25)

Learning Goals

1

(1)

Our Modern View of the Universe

2

(6)

The Scale of the Universe

8

(7)

Spaceship Earth

15

(5)

The Human Adventure of Astronomy

20

(6)

The Big Picture

21

(1)

Summary of Key Concepts

21

(2)

Does It Make Sense?

23

(1)

Quick Quiz

23

(1)

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

23

(1)

Quantitative Problems

24

(1)

Discussion Questions

24

(1)

Media Explorations

25

Basic Astronomical Objects, Units, and Motions

4

(2)

Common Misconceptions: The Meaning of a Light-Year

6

(1)

Mathematical Insight 1.1 How Far Is a Light-Year? An Introduction to Astronomical Problem Solving

7

(2)

Special Topic: How Many Planets Are There In Our Solar System?

9

(2)

Mathematical Insight 1.2 The Scale of Space and Time

11

(1)

Common Misconceptions: Confusing Very Different Things

12

(1)

Mathematical Insight 1.3 Order of Magnitude Estimation

13

(4)

Mathematical Insight 1.4 Speeds of Rotation and Orbit

17

(9)

Discovering the Universe for Yourself

26

(31)

Learning Goals

26

(1)

Patterns in the Night Sky

27

(9)

The Reason for Seasons

36

(5)

The Moon, Our Constant Companion

41

(7)

The Ancient Mystery of the Planets

48

(9)

The Big Picture

52

(1)

Summary of Key Concepts

53

(1)

Does It Make Sense?

54

(1)

Quick Quiz

54

(1)

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

54

(1)

Quantitative Problems

55

(1)

Discussion Questions

55

(1)

Media Explorations

56

Common Misconceptions: The Moon Illusion

30

(2)

Mathematical Insight 2.1 Angular Size, Physical Size, and Distance

32

(1)

Common Misconceptions: Stars in the Daytime

33

(4)

Common Misconceptions: The Cause of Seasons

37

(1)

Common Misconceptions: High Noon

38

(3)

Common Misconceptions: Sun Signs

41

(3)

Common Misconceptions: Moon in the Daytime and Stars on the Moon

44

(1)

Common Misconceptions: The ``Dark Side'' of the Moon

44

(3)

Special Topic: Does the Moon Influence Human Behavior?

47

(5)

Special Topic: Who First Proposed a Sun-Centered Solar System?

52

(5)

The Science of Astronomy

57

(33)

Learning Goals

57

(1)

The Ancient Roots of Science

58

(6)

Ancient Greek Science

64

(6)

The Copernican Revolution

70

(7)

The Nature of Science

77

(5)

Astrology

82

(8)

The Big Picture

84

(1)

Summary of Key Concepts

85

(1)

Does It Make Sense?

86

(1)

Quick Quiz

86

(1)

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

87

(1)

Quantitative Problems

87

(1)

Discussion Questions

88

(1)

Media Explorations

88

Special Topic: Eratosthenes Measures Earth

67

(1)

Common Misconceptions: Columbus and a Flat Earth

67

(3)

Special Topic: Aristotle

70

(3)

Mathematical Insight 3.1 Eccentricity and Planetary Orbits

73

(2)

Mathematical Insight 3.2 Kepler's Third Law

75

(3)

Special Topic: And Yet It Moves

78

(2)

Common Misconceptions: Eggs on the Equinox

80

(1)

Special Topic: Logic and Science

81

(9)

Celestial Timekeeping and Navigation

90

(26)

Learning Goals

90

(1)

Astronomical Time Periods

91

(8)

Celestial Coordinates and Motion in the Sky

99

(10)

Principles of Celestial Navigation

109

(7)

The Big Picture

111

(1)

Summary of Key Concepts

112

(1)

Does It Make Sense?

113

(1)

Quick Quiz

113

(1)

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

113

(1)

Quantitative Problems

114

(1)

Discussion Questions

114

(1)

Media Explorations

115

Mathematical Insight S1.1 The Copernican Layout of the Solar System

94

(4)

Special Topic: Solar Days and the Analemma

98

(4)

Mathematical Insight S1.2 Time by the Stars

102

(9)

Common Misconceptions: Compass Directions

111

(5)

PART II KEY CONCEPTS FOR ASTRONOMY

Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity

116

(29)

Learning Goals

116

(1)

Describing Motion: Examples from Daily Life

117

(3)

Newton's Laws of Motion

120

(4)

Conservation Laws in Astronomy

124

(6)

The Universal Law of Gravitation

130

(2)

Orbits, Tides, and the Acceleration of Gravity

132

(13)

The Big Picture

139

(1)

Summary of Key Concepts

140

(1)

Does It Make Sense?

141

(1)

Quick Quiz

141

(1)

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

142

(1)

Quantitative Problems

142

(1)

Discussion Questions

143

(1)

Media Explorations

144

Common Misconceptions: No Gravity in Space?

121

(3)

Common Misconceptions: What Makes a Rocket Launch?

124

(1)

Mathematical Insight 4.1 Units of Force, Mass, and Weight

124

(5)

Mathematical Insight 4.2 Mass-Energy

129

(4)

Mathematical Insight 4.3 Newton's Version of Kepler's Third Law

133

(2)

Mathematical Insight 4.4 Escape Velocity

135

(2)

Common Misconceptions: The Origin of Tides

137

(2)

Mathematical Insight 4.5 The Acceleration of Gravity

139

(6)

Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos

145

(29)

Learning Goals

145

(1)

Light in Everyday Life

146

(2)

Properties of Light

148

(5)

Properties of Matter

153

(6)

Learning from Light

159

(7)

The Doppler Shift

166

(8)

The Big Picture

169

(1)

Summary of Key Concepts

169

(1)

Does It Make Sense?

170

(1)

Quick Quiz

170

(1)

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

171

(1)

Quantitative Problems

172

(1)

Discussion Questions

172

(1)

Media Explorations

173

Special Topic: What Do Polarized Sunglasses Have to Do with Astronomy?